DENVER, Colorado – In “Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal” (Diversion Books/Simon & Schuster, May 13, 2025) bestselling author Samuel Marquis delves into the legendary life of his own ninth-great-grandfather, Captain William Kidd (1654–1701), casting new light on one of history’s most infamous figures.
Captain Kidd has captivated imaginations for over 300 years and inspired many stories about pirates. But was he really a criminal? Just how many ships did he plunder? How many men did he force to walk the plank? And how many throats did he slit? Or is the truth more inconvenient? That he was a buccaneer’s worst nightmare, a revered pirate hunter turned fall guy for scheming politicians?
In “Captain Kidd,” Marquis reveals the real story. Kidd was an English-American privateer and leading New York husband and father. He was dubbed “trusty and well-beloved” by the King of England himself and described by historians as a “worthy, honest-hearted, steadfast, much-enduring sailor” who was the “victim of a deliberate travesty of justice.” With honors far more esteemed than the menacing Blackbeard or any other sea rover at the turn of the 17th century, how can Kidd be considered both gentleman and pirate, both hero and villain?
“Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal”
Samuel Marquis | May 13, 2025 | Diversion Books | Nonfiction / History
Hardcover | ISBN: 978-1635769685 | $34.99
About the Author
The ninth-great-grandson of legendary privateer Captain William Kidd, Samuel Marquis, M.S., P.G., is a professional hydrogeologist, expert witness, and bestselling, award-winning author of 12 American nonfiction-history, historical fiction, and suspense books, covering primarily the period from colonial America through WWII.
His American history and historical fiction books have been #1 Denver Post and Amazon bestsellers and received multiple national book awards in both fiction and non-fiction categories (Kirkus Reviews and Foreword Reviews Book of the Year, American Book Fest and USA Best Book, Readers’ Favorite, Colorado Book Awards). Marquis’ historical titles have also garnered glowing reviews from #1 bestseller James Patterson, maritime historians, U.S. military veterans, Kirkus Reviews, and Foreword Reviews (5 Stars). His pirate book “Blackbeard: The Birth of America” has been an Amazon #1 Bestseller in Colonial Period History of the U.S.
Marquis lives with his wife in Louisville, Colorado, where they raised their three children. Find out more about him at samuelmarquisbooks.com.
Follow Samuel Marquis on social media:
Facebook: @samuelmarquisbooks | Twitter (X): @Sammarquisbooks
Instagram: @sammarquisbooks
Early Praise for
“Captain Kidd: A True Story of Treasure and Betrayal”
“A swashbuckling account of privateers, pirates, and pirate brokers on the Caribbean high seas at the dawn of the 18th century. With Captain Kidd, Samuel Marquis deftly separates the man from the myth in a riveting narrative that includes a compelling cast of characters, cannon fire, sword fights, mutiny, and treasure—all with the fate of empires hanging in the balance. A rollicking tale that proves that true stories are the best ones.”
—Buddy Levy, bestselling author of Realm of Ice & Sky and Empire of Ice and Stone
“Marquis paints the life of the inimitable Captain Kidd in bold, rich colors. A dashing, absorbing tale.”
—Stephan Talty, bestselling author of Empire of Blue Water
An Interview with Samuel Marquis
How and when did you first discover you were related to the legendary Captain William Kidd?
My parents and relatives told me at an early age that I was the ninth-great-grandson of Captain Kidd based upon our Marquis family tree on my father’s side. However, the stories I heard represented the traditional British Crown and East India Company narrative that he was a New York gentleman who went off the rails and “turned arch-pirate” — which is complete balderdash.
What was it like reexamining an ancestor with such a controversial past? How did your familial connection shape how you researched and approached this book?
As a professional scientist and hydrogeologic expert witness in addition to being an American history author, my approach was to research and write the book as a scholarly historian and not as a family descendant. At the same time, it was important to me to present a sympathetic portrayal of Kidd. He has been badly mischaracterized and maligned as a vicious cutthroat and arch-pirate over the centuries. All due to the original anti-piracy propaganda campaign in the late 1690s by the English Crown and East India Company.
Why do you think Captain Kidd’s legacy stays with us more than other impactful people from his time? Why do you think his tale continues to capture the imagination of so many people?
Over the centuries, Captain Kidd has come to define the “pirate” brand even though he was never actually a pirate. He remains such a pivotal figure in the history of piracy because of his unique and complicated life story and career trajectory; his key role in the creation of buried-pirate-treasure mythology; his ridiculously unfair trial in which the English Crown illegally stacked the deck to win its case against him; and his Forrest-Gump-like connection to a wide variety of important historical events and people from 1689-1701.
Did Captain Kidd really bury treasure here in the United States – and be honest, have you ever looked for it?
Most, if not all, of this “treasure” was tracked down and seized by Kidd’s treacherous business partner and sponsor of his Indian Ocean voyage, Lord Bellomont. Bellomont was the royal governor of New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, who arrested and imprisoned him. Thus, Captain Kidd did not “bury” treasure in the way that we have come to know from Treasure Island and Pirates of the Caribbean.
What do you hope people will take away from this book?
I want my readers to see Captain Kidd as he truly was, as a gray-shaded colonial American hero, and not as the villainous, heartless, dastardly, and fiendish arch-pirate, as falsely created by the English Crown and East India Company, who made him out to be a monster to suit their own political agenda. Perhaps my dedication at the beginning of the book sums up the Captain Kidd legacy best:
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Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.
